


A Warm Heart In Frozen Hell

by Kiraly



Category: City of Hunger (Video Game), Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22703539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Onni knows the world is terrible. In the aftermath of an accident, this knowledge threatens to overwhelm him. Even more overwhelming, though, is the person who always finds a way to chip through the ice around him.
Relationships: Reynir Árnason/Onni Hotakainen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	A Warm Heart In Frozen Hell

**Author's Note:**

> I have been having SUCH a hard time finishing anything recently (I started this weeks ago) but at least I managed to finish this one thing! I have been thinking about these two a lot, especially in the City of Hunger setting for some reason. I like to imagine this comes right after the "I fell into the sea, stupid!" piece of canon art.

_ “What is WRONG with this place? Why is no one doing anything?!”  _

Onni was still in the docking bay, but part of him was also...absent. It was like he could see himself from the outside, hear the things he was shouting at the port official, but he couldn’t stop. Even when another voice started up, softer, soothing. Even when the official moved away—no, not the official. Onni was moving. Someone had a hand on each of his arms, steering him away from the docking bay and further into the base. 

_ “Ship went through the ice, we need HELP, look at Lalli his arm and leg are falling apart, we—” _

_ “Onni—” _

_ “—need medical attention, something is wrong with Tuuri’s eye and she’s bleeding, don’t talk to me about field reports—” _

_ “Onni, it’s okay, shhh—” _

_ “—told you there were snow spiders out there but—” _

_ “Onni. Listen. They’re going to be okay. They’re with the medic teams now.”  _

Abruptly Onni was back in his own skin. His throat felt raw, and what bones he had left were ice. Even his metal limbs ached with cold. But there were two warm spots, one on each arm, and hot breath murmuring in his ear. 

“Onni, it’s all right. Okay? Can you understand me?”

“Y...es.” The croaking voice didn’t sound like his, but it seemed to suffice. 

“Good. I was starting to worry.” The warm spots on his arms shifted up, chafing lines of heat from shoulder to elbow. “Can you look at me?”

Onni’s eyes focused. Red hair, bright as a signal fire. Freckles scattered like sand on snow. Green eyes, searching his for something he couldn’t name. “Reynir?”

A nod. “It’s me.”

“What...what’s happening? Where is everyone?” Because they were alone now. The cracking ice, the broken ship, the rest of the bedraggled crew—all of those were gone. 

“They’re okay. Lalli’s with the cybermedics now, they’re working on his damaged limbs. Tuuri got two stitches, the cut on her head bled a lot but it wasn’t anything serious. Her eye will be fine after they clean the blood out and recalibrate it.” A pause; one of Reynir’s hands moved away to enter a door code. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

Onni wanted to ask where “there” was, but his tongue seemed to be stuck in the past. “What  _ happened  _ though?” He should know this. He was there. But every time he tried to think it through, to  _ make a field report  _ like the port official wanted, the snow and the blood and the howling fear came back.

“Shhh.” Something must have shown on his face, because Reynir was talking in that soothing voice again, running his hands along Onni’s arms. “All that matters is that you’re safe now. We can talk about it when you’re warm.” Fabric rustled, and Onni was vaguely aware of his coat hitting the floor. 

_ Warm _ . He didn’t think it was possible. His family had been through frozen hell. Their whole existence on this planet was one long, tepid purgatory. They’d survived so far, and from what Reynir said it sounded like they would survive today. But that was all he could hope for. Keep going. Cling to survival until he couldn’t. 

“You can let go now, if you want.”

Onni blinked. He was gripping Reynir’s shoulder, holding tight to keep his balance. Reynir set Onni’s second boot aside and smiled up at him. “Sit down, you look exhausted.”

The bed was softer than expected. Onni sank in, and couldn’t even summon the energy to protest when Reynir lifted his feet and tipped him over to lay on his side. Blankets settled over him. He could feel himself floating away again, awareness dissipating in a cloud of exhaustion, when the mattress dipped with a groan. “Wha?”

“Just getting my boots off, don’t worry.” A pair of soft thumps, then the bed shifted again. Onni cracked his eyes open just in time to see Reynir climb over him. “You’re still shivering,” Reynir said, correctly interpreting Onni’s confused stare. “I’m going to help.”

Apparently “helping” meant wrapping his arms around Onni from behind and pulling him close. Onni couldn’t see what good that would do. He was still stuck on this terrible planet. His family was still in constant danger. No amount of hugs would fix the shitty reality of his life.

But as Reynir propped his chin on Onni’s shoulder and sighed into his hair, a thread of heat stirred. It started from Reynir’s hand, palm pressed flat to Onni’s chest, and spread. It cut through the cold—steady, insistent. Thawed things just enough for words to form.

“Why...why are you doing this?” Reynir owed him nothing. They weren’t family. Whatever they  _ were,  _ it was too new and nebulous to name. Onni had no right to ask for this comfort. He didn’t deserve it.

“You know why.” The warmth kept spreading. His lungs loosened, letting in deeper breaths.

“I...I don’t.” 

Soft lips on his neck, right along the seam joining metal to skin. “I care about you, Onni.” Another kiss, just below his ear. “And no one else is taking care of you. So please, just...let me?”

Cracks were forming in the glacier around his heart now. He’d built it up year after year, adding a new layer of protection for every tragedy. It should have been strong enough to withstand anything. Especially in a world like this, so cold and unforgiving. But Reynir’s words were molten lava; there was nothing to do but be washed away in the resulting flood.

“All right. Okay. You’re okay.” It occurred to Onni eventually that the deluge wasn’t just in his mind. His eyes were wet, and tracks ran down his cheeks to drip on the pillow. Reynir kept up a litany of soft reassurances. He didn’t tell Onni to stop, didn’t try to convince him there was nothing to cry over. He didn’t pull away. He simply held on and let Onni’s feelings run their course. 

After what felt like eternity, the tears subsided. Onni wanted nothing more than to fall asleep—he could feel it pulling at him, gentler than the void he’d been so close to before. And he probably should, after the day he’d had. But there was something he had to say first.

“Reynir?”

“Mmm?” Reynir stirred, raising himself up on one elbow. ”Are you feeling better?”

“Mmm.” He was, but that was not a high bar to reach. Temporary safety and comfort had always been a luxury for Onni. “I...appreciate this.” The warmth of a body wrapped around his. The words, soft but insistent.  _ It’s okay. You’re okay.  _ “And...you.”

“Oh!” A sigh. “I appreciate you too, you know. And I’m—” he buried his face in Onni’s hair, ”—I’m glad you’re safe. When they said your ship crashed, I thought...well. You’re here now, everyone is fine. That’s all that matters.”

_ Oh.  _ “You were...worried? For me?” Cheerful Reynir with his sunny disposition, always too bright for this dismal planet. Onni never thought of him worrying, but that was stupid. Of  _ course  _ he would. He cared about Onni. And Onni…

“You should never worry about me,” he chided, out of habit more than anything. “But I’m...glad. That you were there today.”  _ Because I care about you too. _ He rolled over then, twisting blankets so he could face Reynir. “Thank you.” He leaned forward to kiss the smile blooming between the freckles. Soft, first, then deeper as Reynir leaned into him.

Maybe the world was cold and grey and broken. Maybe this shitty ice planet was going to kill them all one day. But for now, Onni was safe. For now, the bed was warm, and Reynir was there to hold him. So he held Reynir too, and let his lips and hands stand in place of words.


End file.
